Env length and N-linked glycosylation following transmission of human immunodeficiency virus Type 1 subtype B viruses.
Liu Y,
Curlin ME,
Diem K,
Zhao H,
Ghosh AK,
Zhu H,
Woodward AS,
Maenza J,
Stevens CE,
Stekler J,
Collier AC,
Genowati I,
Deng W,
Zioni R,
Corey L,
Zhu T,
Mullins JI.
Department of Microbiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195-8070, USA.
Whether there is selection for specific viral Env variants upon HIV-1 transmission is controversial. We examined the V1V2 and V1V4 regions of Env in 10 new and 8 previously described transmission pairs infected with HIV-1 subtype B, including a total of 9 pairs in which the infecting partner had developed substantial viral diversity prior to transmission. We found that during transmission of HIV-1 subtype B, as well as for other subtypes reported in the past, viral populations in recipients undergo substantial genetic bottlenecks, as well as weak evidence for a propensity to replicate viruses with shorter variable loops and fewer potential N-linked glycosylation sites.
PMID: 18314154 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PMCID: PMC2441482